I have a ficus in my sun room which is 10+ years old. It's been dripping a sticky sap for about 2 years. It also has mealy bugs, aphids, and more recently has developed a large ant colony in the soil. The ants seem to be carrying white eggs or something around with them. I have tried physically removing the mealy bugs and scales, cutting back the foliage about 30%, and systemic soil treatments to no avail. The plant is too large to transport outside, and re-potting it where it currently sits would not be my first choice. Can you suggest any treatments for all of these infestations? Thank-you.
You have a HUGE job ahead of you, and even this might not work at first! But, with extreme diligence, you could win. The dripping sap is probably caused by the critters chomping on your tree. Get a large bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol, lots of Q-tips and maybe a magnifying glass. Put some thing good in the CD player and pull up a comfy chair. Dip Q-tip in alcohol and press it on every critter you can find. Works real well on mealy bugs, and scale. Any Indoor plant sprays will take care of the aphids. I don't know about ants, maybe ant traps. In a tree that large it going to take alot of time and effort and going back many times to check for new critters. Not an "anyone" reccomendation, but from personal experience. I have used out-of-date birth control pills disolved in warm water with cool water added, as a fertilizer. I know of no one else that has used it, or any "scientific" back ground for this. But if your tree is healthy it can help fight off the critters. My tree lost few leaves in the move from the San Juan Is. in the exposed back of a truck on a Ferry to the mainland or when moved with-in the house. In 7 yrs it went from a 3" .99 plant on the "knowbody Loves Me" table to 6' tall and 5' wide. barb
i wouldn't recommend fertilizing while the tree is in distress. best get the bugs under control; give the plant a month to recuperate and then fert. agree wholeheartedly with the rubbing alcohol and q-tip treatment for the mealy and scale bugs. you may want to get a spray bottle and use that instead though as it'll be quicker. if you use the sprayer, dilute the r-a 2 to 1 with water. make sure to spray at a time when the sun won't be on the tree - that would cause an issue. also, cover the soil very well so that the r-a doesn't get into it. the sticky stuff is probably from aphids or the scale. ants will farm aphids, and they're awful tiny and clearish in color so, they can be hard to see. deal with the ants by putting some cornmeal out and about...they'll bring it back to the nest and will die since they can't digest it (mix with a small amount of sugar so they are sure to collect it up. the r-a will also deal with any aphids and, once you get rid of them, the ants will move on if the cornmeal hasn't done them in already. once you deal with the hard scale bugs with the r-a, you can flick them off the tree with a small tool - metal nail file, etc. good luck!!
